The Spirit - 1987

I was on the hunt for more superheroes to add to our theoretical cinematic universe, and I noticed this movie. I put it on and waited to make my final decision. So far, we have The Pumaman and Supersonic Man.

A man's friend gets blown up and wants to be avenged. He thinks he's found a lead, but then he gets shot and falls in some water at the docks. He raises like a zombie at the weirdest cemetery I've ever seen and scares some kids. He takes one under his wing as his "Robin." After he recovers (which he did quickly - good job invisible doctor!), he pulls a tiny mask out of a drawer, and The Spirit is born.

This movie was weird. And I'm not talking about weird in a good way. The beginning was strong. Spirit's friend was dead, got blown up, then he stumbled out of the house to talk to his friend before dying again. The tone of the movie struck me as intentionally campy, which is the worst kind. I did get a couple of chuckles out of the movie, but all my joy was coming from the police commissioner. And he wasn't in it near enough to save this movie.

The Spirit doesn't make the cut. We have high standards for our cinematic universe!

Midnight Lace - 1960

This movie came on my radar partly due to the subject and partly due to the actors. I'm a fan of Rex Harrison, so I looked forward to watching it.

Kit Preston is a recently married American heiress living in London. In a thick fog, she hears a strange voice threatening to kill her. She rushes home and tells her husband, who brushes it off as a prank. When it happens again, it isn't something she's ready to push aside, but it's becoming hard for people to believe her. The inspector at Scotland Yard thinks it's a scheme by a neglected wife, and no one else has ever heard the voice.

There were hints early on that my man Rex was going to be a nefarious soul. The main one was that they introduced a character I would consider an alternate love interest. I just didn't want it to be Rex. Oh well. We can't have everything. Doris Day played the wife, and she irritated me a bit. I know he was messing with her mind, but for goodness' sake, if you're in the apartment alone (or watching a struggle), pick up a fireplace poker or something.

I suppose if I didn't like Rex so much, I would've enjoyed it more. If I try to put that aside, I guess the twists were well done. The "other man" was a bit shoehorned in there and a bit unnecessary. If he hadn't been in there, I don't think I would've figured things out as much as I did. Admittedly, I never had some of the details figured out ahead of time, so the movie gets credit for that. I'll give it a Good Movie! review for the enjoyment factor, but I'm so sad Rex was a villain...

Supersonic Man - 1979

This little gem has been watched a few times, but I shared it with the family over the weekend.

Speedo man is flying through space when he's told the earth needs him. He gets an epic sparkly outfit and proceeds to fly to earth (to the best theme song ever). When he gets there, he protects a woman who has the personality of a sheet of paper. When needed, he talks to his watch and turns into Supersonic Man. This superhero has TONS of neat little powers. The more you watch, the more you discover. 

Paper woman's father has been abducted for some reason, and Supersonic Man has to save the day. Honestly, I'm not really sure what the main McGuffin was in this one, I was just having fun watching things explode. The end is weird, but what else did I expect?

This movie made me want a crossover or a cinematic universe with Supersonic Man and Pumaman. And the craziest part? The Pumaman is actually mentioned on the Wikipedia page for Supersonic Man as similar! That cracked me up. Some of the family thought this one was better than Pumaman, but I think they each have their own charm. I think my youngest probably would lean towards Pumaman, only because she would cringe every time the theme song began to play. As a trumpet player, the music was giving her physical pain.

I would definitely watch this again. The ineptness of the men in the car tailing the daughter - hilarious. My favorite part is when Supersonic Man saves the daughter as she's being chased. But there are so many good parts, I can't list them all. If you liked Pumaman, I think you'd like this one. If they both sound insane and they never should've been made, you might want to pass. If you do want to watch it, I recommend watching it with friends. Laughing is more fun when you do it with friends! Good Movie!